Sudden Silence
by NeonNerdyNinja
Summary: ...sudden heat. previously called Just For This Moment.. Elphaba and Fiyero are the best of friends, nothing will change that, right? Not even when their best friend mysteriously disapears? Fiyeraba, mostly musical-verse characers.. enjoy! vaguly AU :
1. Three Good Friends

**My first attempt at a fan fiction, so any comments/reviews are greatly appreciated :D**

**If ur interested, my Elphaba is a mixture of the personalities of Shoshana Bean and Amanda Harrison, (but also Idina Menzel/Kerry Ellis a bit), my G(a)linda is mainly Kirsten Chenowith and Lucy Durack with a bit of Megan Hilty and my Fiyero is purely Oliver Tompsett :D**

**I think im meant to do a disclaimer thing..**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked o_O**

* * *

Elphaba looked up from her large book to glare at the petite blonde in front of her. Lips pouting, hands on hips and eyes wide, most people would have done anything to please the darling Miss Galinda. Most people.

'Not now Galinda, we have our first History exam tomorrow and I need to research the rise and fall of Tybern just in case-"

"Elphaba. We both know you're going to top this quiz thing with all the study you've done already and anyway, am I supposed to go shopping for the party alone tonight?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes, slamming her book shut, expelling copious amounts of dust and reaching for her satchel, much to the delight of Galinda.

"Actually, it's not a _quiz-_ it's our mid-year exam, but I'm guessing you won't be leaving me alone anyway so I may as well come with you now to save time."

"Oh Elphie, you're the bestest friend ever!" Galinda hugged her tightly, and Elphaba froze, caught off guard by this emotional response, and responded by patting Galina awkwardly on the head.

Galinda noticed her discomfort and released her, beaming widely before scooping up her bag and racing out the door, calling for Elphaba to hurry. Elphaba smiled and sighed. Shopping was definitely not how she had planned to spend her last day of study, but she enjoyed spending time with Galinda and knew that it meant a lot to her when they went out together. Sliding her satchel over her shoulder, she strode to the door and was about to leave when she caught sight of herself in the mirror- and grimaced. Still ugly, still horribly green. And she remembered her father and how he turned away as she entered the room, too disgusted by her to even look. She remembered Nessa, precious Nessarose, who blushed and turned away in public, ashamed and embarrassed. Every face, shocked, confused, taunting, mocking, but hers was the only one that was green – green as sin.

Her worries were beyond vanity, she didn't care to be beautiful or even pretty. But green! Unrespected and rejected, for Elphaba, her friendship with Galinda was still new and amazing, she had never had a friend before, someone to laugh and smile with, someone to annoy and tease, someone to just talk with...

"Elphaba?"

Fiyero's voice pierced through her thoughts and Elphaba turned to see her only other friend peering at her worriedly, so she gave him a small reassuring smile.

"Sorry, just thinking..."

The worry was replaced by amusement, "Ah, of course, thinking... remind me to try that some time."

Elphaba gave him a playful shove and he grimaced and rubbed his ribs before grinning and walking down the hall with her to meet Galinda. She was waiting impatiently at the door, bouncing almost excited with the anticipation of new clothes. As they set of towards the small shopping area just out of Shiz, Elphaba glanced at her friends to each side of her, and could not help smiling warmly.

The three of them were very close friends, even after Galinda and Fiyero had broken up, perhaps even closer since then. With them, Elphaba almost forgot about her studies (almost), even forgetting about her unusual colouring, until a wide stare from a stranger would bring it all back. Galinda and Fiyero also noticed this, the stubborn, spited and serious Elphaba from class would slowly melt away to reveal their compassionate, caring but crazy friend. It was so strange to sometimes see the class Elphaba swiftly kick in to retaliate to a seasickness joke or disgusted face.

"Ohhh Elphie, look! Mr. Debauchers Dress Salon has opened, here!" Galinda started dragging her towards the new boutique with surprising strength for her tiny frame.

"Yeah _Elphie, _we can get you that _gorgeous_ new skirt-" Fiyero chortled as he gracefully dodged Elphaba's swipe at his face, his face jovial until it turned to shock as Galinda's hand met his cheek with a loud slap. Stunned, he stopped, to the great amusement of the two girls who fell about giggling at his facial expression until he recovered and chased them all the way down to hill to the dress shop, where they bundled inside, grinning sheepishly, much to the disapproving glares of the classy attendants.

Fiyero and Elphaba exchanged guilty looks, breathing heavily from their brief pursuit, feeling very out of place in the carpeted elegant interiors of Mr. Debauchers Dress Salon. Galinda had already rushed over to the closest rack and was pulling various items off excitedly.

Elphaba wandered over to help her, relieving the short girl from the growing pile of clothing.

Just another afternoon shopping downtown.

* * *

**Or is it...**


	2. Hearts Leap

**Fellow Ozians - :D lol sorry**

**WOw it was so nice that people reviewed the first chapter, i really wasnt expecting that, so special thanks to capriblue, Elphaba1Fan and PositutitvelyEmeraldacious, your lovely commments inspired me to write more :)**

**Oh and i changed then name because (oh ignorant i) just realised that like a third of the fics here are called some variation fo just for this moment.. not sure if i like the new one but very happy to welcome any suggestions **

**And finally (sorry) i do not own wicked :)**

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The afternoon passed swift and a cool chill was on the air by the time the trio left the shop, weighed down with many purchases. The sun had almost set and the light was slipping away as night set in. Elphaba loved this time of day, when shadows and darkness crept over faces and people, distorting and mystifying everything. Sometimes, if she unfocused her eyes and pushed her imagination, she could hold her hands out before and fool herself that they were no longer green, the magic spell of twilight granting her eternal wish, for just one moment..

Next to her, Elphaba could see Galinda shiver a little, wrapping her thin jacket closer around her. She was not cold, not really, but something on the early evening air, something unknown made her feel uneasy. Noticing Elphaba placing a hand on her arm, Galinda glanced up at her taller and brushed aside her discomfort, smiling prettily. She was so very good at being happy.

"Next time we must find something for you Elphie, I simply can't believe you didn't like _anything_ in there!" Fiyero muffled a snort, and Galinda feigned horror, slapping his shoulder lightly, but all three were in on the joke – it was a rare occasion indeed that Elphaba would find something she liked in any of the shops that Galinda chose.

Continuing down the path, the approached the post office, and Fiyero made his excuses and slipped inside, checking upon his required correspondence as a Vinkus Prince. As they waited, Galinda and Elphaba wandered over to a nearby bench, chatting and laughing gently. Their conversation slowly lapsed into silence, as both girls were exhausted and content sitting quietly, watching the sun dip further and further behind the horizon, lost in their own thoughts.

Elphaba wondered briefly why Fiyero was taking so long, but remembered that he had many letters from ambassadors and such to address and made an enormous effort to remain on good relations with those who would one day look to him as their leader. She allowed her eyes to fall shut, relaxing, enjoying the serenity of the city. Off campus, with her two best friends, life seemed perfect. Feeling a gently pressure against her shoulder, she slid open one eye to see that Galinda has fallen soundly asleep, with Elphaba's shoulder as the next-best-thing to a pillow. Smiling at the sight of her friend, who would be horrified to think that she was asleep, in public, she moved slightly to a more comfortable position before lapsing back into her dreamy state, confident that Fiyero would wake them on his return.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

As she dreamt, she drifted, floating from thought to emotion, colour to music. And as she flitted through her mind, one face came before her, his eyes smiling, hair tossed in the breeze, grin perfect and warm. She smiled back instinctively, even in her sleep, before realising that she was dreaming, and about _Fiyero, _and that was not right, she didn't even think of him in that way, she couldn't...ever...

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Her thoughts brought her unwillingly back to consciousness, as her eyelids fluttered open, squinting in the streetlamp's gentle glow. Stretching her arms and rolling her shoulders back, she suddenly remembered what she had been dreaming about and why she had woken, snapping her swift out of any last vestiges of slumber. Brow furrowing, she considered carefully the ways in which she felt about Fiyero, as a good leader, as an entertainer, as someone who was always there, as a great friend, and then she realised that maybe she actually felt something more for the Vinkus prince. Blushing slightly, Elphaba realised that she had the smallest of crushes on her best friends ex, and her own friend. Furious with herself, she shoved any _other_ thoughts she may have about Fiyero far away, he was her friends, her good friend and things needed to stay that way.

And anyway, it was a silly idea, as Fiyero could never have ever thought of her in that way, in the slightest, _that _was totally and absolutely impossible. Completely.

Glad to have ordered any misplaced feelings, Elphaba suddenly noticed something was not right, and then remembered that her shoulder had been previously occupied for Galinda. But she was gone.

Turning around, looking quickly as far as she could see, Elphaba peered into the darkness, calling her name, softly at first, but then louder and more urgently. No reply.

Scared, Elphaba stood up swiftly, almost tripping over her own feet to fetch Fiyero from the post office to –of course. Galinda must have woken up, left her asleep and joined Fiyero inside.

Breathing a small sigh of relief, she sank back down onto the bench, slight amused and embarrassed by her own paranoia. Calmed, she noticed a folded note on the bench beside her, Galinda must have written so that she would not be confused when she woke up alone. How kind.

Uninterested in going inside the post office and much happier outdoors in the night, Elphaba resolved to remain waiting, darkness truly engulfed all by now, and the smatterings of lampposts through the darkness shone like fireflies in the night. Elphaba was in her element, the scent of the fresh evening and the feel of the chilling breeze made her feel alive and special, alone but joined to much more.

Her darkness was disturbed by the sudden light from across the road as Fiyero swung open the door of the shop and crossed quickly over to where Elphaba sat.

'Hey, sorry I took so long, politics and such,' he pulled a face, 'wait – where's Galinda?'

The weight that had been lifted from Elphaba's shoulders came crashing back down as her eyes widened in confusion and horror.

'B-but she wasn't here, and she was, I though she came inside, cause you-'

She began to look around frantically again, leaping up and taking a few steps in every direction, flustered and upset.

'Wait, what? Galinda never came inside the whole time...' His voice was serious now, and the gravity of their situation had well and truly hit home as Elphaba's eyes fell to the note which she had seen earlier beside her.

Hand quivering, she lifted in carefully and it fell open. Her sharp eyes narrowed, scanning the page rapidly and then opened wide in shock. Her legs began to shake and would have given way had Fiyero not quickly steered her back to the bench.

His hand reached for the note, but she was clutching it too tightly, holding on as if her life depended on it, her entire frame shaking. He diverted his hand to her back, rubbing gently and soothing with words, 'Don't worry Elphaba, it'll all be okay.'

She stiffened and jerked out of his reach, opening her mouth with the intention of speaking, but finding her lips too dry to make a sound. Inhaling deeply she steeled herself and spoke.,

'She's gone Fiyero, someone's taken her...'

* * *

**Yep**

**Im sorry, another cliffhanger... i will try to avoid that... :)**

**this is the first time i have really written a story so if you didnt like a part or have suggestions as to how it could be written better i would absolutley love to hear your ideas :)**

**and lol at elphaba's denial..**


	3. Don't Lost Sight

**Fellow Ozians :D**

**So sorry it has been a while since and update, but I have been finalising this storyline and kind of getting all my ideas in order, this is my first fanfic so writing on a regular basis is a new thing for me :) But firstly thanks to all my lovely reviewers from the last chapter, Beautifully Tragic Ozian, capriblue, PotoPerson and Botherer 1337, *virtual hugss* and anyone who has read any of this story, your thoughts and comment are always greatly appreciated. **

**This chapter is a bit short but I wanted to post it in honour of Australian Wicked's 1 year birthday celebration, it was fantastic and.... I GOT FREE TICKETS :D :D :D lined up a first thing in the morning in my elphaba costume with a friends and it was soo cold but totally worth it :) Lucy Durak (glinda) and Jemma Stevenson (Amanda Harrison's standby) and Rob Mills and some of the cast performed One Short Day and they were amazing (but they were) And it was Rob Mills (Fiyero) Birthday too, god i love him :) and you may ask why, why do you bother wasting this space with your sad little obsessive life but i am simply joyified at the moment and cannot helo myself :) feel the wicked birthday joy 3**

**Disclaimer: I do not naught never own wicked (platonically)[but i wish it was not so]**

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Don't Lost Sight

______________________________________________

|_ We have taken from you the beautyfied prize_

|_ Fear not; she naught be not safe_

|_ While in shadows remain the game yet unknown_

|_ For both the foolish and the brave_

| _But should such a game become known by the guards_

| _Or a teacher or parent or friend_

| _Then a fear fill your hearts and a curse on your soul_

| _For there she shall meet her end._

|_ Ozma's worth of worthy herself_

|_ Payed in full by our own 'Prince Charming'_

|_ Till then, ne'er before, nor in advance_

|_ Shall she be returned free from harming_

|_ Still - wonderful means have strange twisted ends_

|_ So proof of your valour to be_

|_ Where so undisguised and unmasked; open wide_

|_ Something there will then cease prove to be seen_

|_ Reaching both below and to skies up above_

|_ The tallest there gives and gives freely with love._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fiyero finished the last sentence with a tone of uncertainty, his confusion of the warped phrases could not have gone unnoticed, but Elphaba did not reply in any manner, but continued to sit perched on the edge of her crisp black bed, face in palms, brow furrowed; deep in thought. She had already read through the letter many times but had not spoken yet, merely handing the white sheet over to him to read for himself.

They had returned to the girls dorm in silence, Fiyero glancing occasionally across at the girl beside him, worried and unsettled by her clenched jaw and blank expression. He had expected Elphaba to react in her usual fiery manner, and with the close friendship that the two girls shared he had prepared himself for an even angrier and furious response, or another of her uncontrollable magical outbursts, but somehow her unbroken silence was more frightening and more disturbing than any reaction he had anticipated.

And now he waited patiently for her carefully process the riddle in her mind.

Minutes passed. She glanced up at him, her face still pensive, questioning..

'What do you think it means? I mean obviously the first bit '_beautyfied prize'_ is referring to Galinda, only she ever spoke like that,' she stood up and crossed the room to look at the note in Fiyero's hand and pointed at another part, 'and here where it says '_should such a game become known'_ that's telling us not to alert anyone to Galinda's disappearance, or they might hurt her, well actually '_she shall meet her end...''_ Her words choked and she could not finish the sentence as small tears began to form at the side of her eyes.

Fiyero noticed her hand was shaking slightly and his gently upon it to calm her, 'Don't worry Elphaba, we'll figure this out', his words were meant as comfort but she stepped back, her entire frame now trembling, eyes wide and wild.

'But what are we meant to do! They _cannot_ just take her, I won't let them, I can't let them-' The tears threatened to leak but she held them back stubbornly. Fiyero could help but gather her into a warm hug, rubbing her back soothingly, allowing her to let the tears fall as if no one knew they were there. She stiffened, but then allowed her head to drop softly onto his broad shoulder and she returned the embrace slowly, each taking much needed comfort from the others' presence.

Finally, Elphaba drew a shaky breath and removed her arms from around Fiyero to pick up the note from where it had fallen. She knew that now was no time to waste with tears and fears, immediate action was required and she would do whatever it would take to find Galinda and bring her back. Pushing her trepidation to a far corner in her mind she steeled herself, and looked up at Fiyero to see him already examining the note in her hand thoughtfully.

'Well none of this really makes sense to me' he admitted, 'it's all so random, I probably couldn't have even figured out what the first line meant.' He shot Elphaba an endearing smile.

She rolled her eyes, 'well aren't you charming...' The sarcasm in her voice was apparent, but her expression suddenly changed, 'Hold on, _Prince Charming, _that's you!'

His grin widened, 'If you insist-'

'Oh pfft, Fiyero I'm talking about the letter, _our own Prince Charming, _so they're asking **you** to pay her random!' Elphaba's expression was caught between horror and delight, another clue solved, but they still had no idea what to do.

Fiyero noticed her appearance and dropped the idiotic grin, adopting a more serious demeanour.

'Well that's a start at least, what else can we,' she cocked one eyebrow, 'alright, what else can _you _solve?'

Elphaba sighed and turned back to the note, head reeling.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

**And just coz i can i shall comment here as well**

**Sorry about the poem, what can i say i fail at rhyming? If anyone has the urge to tweak it and make it, well, a poem please let me know :)**

**And there will be a prize for anyone who can completly decifer the note before my next update...**

**3 mucho love ~greenTgal~**


	4. Haunts and Hurts

**~Fellow Ozians!**

**SAW WICKED AGAIN!!! With free tickets tee hee :] lucy durack was splendid as glinda as always, and jemma rix was stunning as Elphaba, she is a truly enchanting singer :D I cried so much in for good.. yes well this is a short-ish chapter because I am caught up in a massive post-wicked high and need to write stuff that is wicked related... **

**Fresh *virtual* baby meringues (which are sitting next to me and looking more and more tempting..) for butterisbetter and Elphaba1Fan for being so wonderful and reviewing my last chapter, and thank you to anyone who has reviewd any chapter, please don't hesitate to, even if ur hating this, I would love to know :) **

**Aannd**

**Congratulations to Elphaba1Fan for deciphering almost all of my clue errily accurately ^_^**

**Prize shall ensue shortly..! but a truly outstanding job, snaps for you :]**

**And now this note is too llong.. so I shall add one more thing:**

**I do not own wicked ^_^**** but im sure if all us crazy fanatics pitched together, we could totally buy it o_o**

* * *

Haunts and hurts

Galinda's first conscious thought was that she had an extremely painful crick in her neck, and she gave a little moan of discomfort. She must have slept funny, she thought to herself.

Shifting slightly into a more comfortable position, she tried to will herself back to sleep, back to her happy dreams of parties and sparkling lights and little dancing faeries...

She reached down to pull up her soft pink duvet, which must have slipped down during the night, only to find it wasn't there, her hands closing on only air.

Puzzled, she groped around blindly, still drifting between wake and slumber, unwilling to open her eyes just yet. As her fingers continued to fail to find the softness of her duvet, her delicate brow furrowed with confusion as she screwed up her eyes and followed the line of her dress (She hadn't changed for bed? How disgraceful!) down to the bed -no! It was a hard, cold floor.

Her eyes flew open now, only to be graced by pitch black darkness. She blinked, then again, but the dark remained black as ever. Sitting upright, she could definitely feel the stone cold floor beneath her now, and she was fully awake and startled.

The next thing that hit her was the smell, putrid and pungent it filled her head as she daintily wrinkled up her nose is disgust, pointlessly waving her hands around in front of her face in an attempt to dispel the stench.

Although she could not fully remove this horrendous smell, she decided to ignore as best she could, and then realised how chillingly cold she was, freezing in fact. The sparkled (and now crumpled) blue dress that she was wearing was by no means very warm, and as she curled her legs tightly beneath her skirts, she almost regretted her choice of clothing. Although the ruffled sapphire skirts were extremely fashionable, and the silvery sleeves were gorgeous, for once Elphaba's more stoic and sturdy fashion sense would have been helpful, and she would happily have traded her strappy silver sandles for Elphaba's soft leather boots..

Elphaba... Galinda screwed up her eyes once again and rubbed at her forehead, trying to remember what had happened. They had gone shopping, yes, and then the post office, but only Fiyero, Elphaba had stayed outside and sat down on the bench and talked about... about...

The blonde pouted in disappointment into the dark. For some reason her last few conscious moments were a complete blur and all she knew was that she was definitely not on that bench anymore, and Elphaba was nowhere to be found, or maybe she was here too?

'Elphie?' her shrill voice pierced tentatively through what had been blanket silence.

No reply. Try again.

'Elphaba, are you there?'

'Shh!'

There it was another person to her left. She half crawled, half shuffled in the direction of the response, curiosity overcoming the small fears which had sprouted in her mind. Before long one of her legs hit something, a metal rod – bars! She reached up to feel them, thick and cold, about a hand span apart each, the gaps too thin to squeeze through.

She was thinking about these bars when it finally hit her, was she in prison?

No, no one would dare arrest Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands, the idea was simply absurd.

So why the bars?

The only idea she could come up with was to speak again, and question the voice in the darkness.

'Where are we?'

Her reply was almost instantaneous, urgently whispered and of no help at all.

'We mustn't talk now, if they hear us we will be punished. Later'.'

Silence again.

Galinda bit her lip and thought. Punished? Maybe this was a prison. Someone must have made a silly mistake and she had ended up locked away. Well, she would fix that!

'Look, I'm not meant to be here-' she began

'Hush!' the mysterious voice implied necessity and Galinda found herself obeying and falling silent.

Black.

And silent.

And then, footsteps.

Coming closer, and closer, almost beside her.

And gone

Passed on by.

Galinda let out a long breath she had not known she was holding. Her hands were trembling inexplicably and she felt incredibly shaken, and unsure as to why. She opened her mouth the inquire into the dark again, but before she could utter a sound,

'Later!'

Her mouth fell shut with a small sigh. She could wait. It was cold and lonely and she missed Elphaba and Fiyero and even Boq. But it seemed her only hope for the moment was in the mysterious voice, if she could even trust that.

Curling into the smallest ball she could, freezing cold, tired and scared, Galinda closed her eyes and waited.

**Soo... Galinda POV in dedication to Lucy Durack =P**** I know it's not exactly thrillifying and I left Elphaba and Fieyro with a bit of a cliffhanger.. but I needed to show that Galinda is not just the dumb blonde being kidnapped, so she will have an important part in this story too ^_^**

**Review please please please :[**

**Love you all as much as erm the biggest loser loves cake :)**

**~greenTgal O_O**


	5. Some Confusion

**Fellow Ozians~**

**Me again, hi! Sorry it's been so long, but I have been actually writing and planning out this story a little bit, just to make sure I know where I'm going.. Vaguly..**

**Firstly - EPIC THANK YOU to butterisbetter, Akasharouge, capriblue, Elphaba1Fan and PotoPerson for reviewing, big virtual hugs for you, 3**

**Secondly - well done to Elphaba1Fan again on the poem, here she is, hope I vaguly do you justice.**

**And finally (well not really, disclaimer still )- this chapter. Yes. Erm it was going to be back to Fae/Fiyero but I need a bit more time with Galinda. Don't worry. I have plenty of Fiyero/Elphaba chapters coming up :)**

**And finally**

**Wicked na il haba (: and praise to whoever invented the upsidedown smiley, you are awersom..**

* * *

Hours had passed, but with the relentless silence and overwhelming dark, for Galinda it felt more like days and days. The only signs of any life or change were the footsteps - coming closer and closer, passing by and continuing on every time undeterred, did they even know she was here?

They must, someone must have thought to put her here, this wasn't an on-a-whim kidnapping, this was an organised crime, plotted and executed to perfection..

She snorted as daintily (and quietly) as she could.

Solitary confinement was said to procure paranoia, and she was not about to fall victim to _that._

Galinda smiled a little, even her thoughts were beginning to sound like Elphaba sometimes, reeling definitions straight off her Life Sciences notes.

As she thought of Elphaba the small smile was swiftly wiped from her face as she suddenly realised that she had forgotten all about Elphaba - and Fiyero, and she was instantly filled with guilt, her friends were probably in the same situation as her, or worse and here she was, wallowing in self pity, barely sparing them a thought.

Were they here, with her, somewhere in the darkness?

She couldn't have known if someone was that standing three feet from her, the dark was so consuming and drowned out her perception entirely. The voice she had heard earlier was definitely not belonging to Elphaba or Fiyero, she knew their voices too well to mistake them...

Oz, this silence was infuriating!

She was tempted to speak out again but the possibility that her patience could be key if she wanted her mysterious neighbour to speak to her again kept her silent.

This must have been the longest amount of time, for Galinda, to pass without her or someone else saying something, anything!

She would have gladly listened to one of Professor Romana's Mathematics lectures now, or even hear Boq reciting ever single political Sciences note for hours on end before exams..

What would happen if no one found her here? Would she ever get back to her dorm, back to Shiz, back home?

Would she ever see her parents again?

They wouldn't even know that she was gone yet; it wasn't as if she had permanent correspondence with them.

She could still remember the last time they had been together, during semester break, it seemed so long ago and-

Her frazzled thoughts were interrupted by the approaching footsteps once again. Somehow, when the footsteps were near, it seemed dangerous to even think loudly.

They must have passes already more than 10 times - terrifying Galinda witless each time, but at least they were changing, there was something reassuring about a sign of life, of another person.

She realised that she had been waiting for the footsteps return, hanging out for the confirmation that some time had actually passed.

As the footsteps finally faded away into silence again, Galinda felt the muggy suspense which had clouded her head lift and a cold chill swept across her face.

Moments later, she hear a sound to her left, a large breath being exhaled quickly, someone shuffling clumsily towards her. She tensed, unsure whether so say something or move away or stay put. The voice split the silence.

"They pass here exactly twenty times every day, well I can assume that it's day time because after they don't come back for _ages _so it would make sense if that was when they were asleep - a bit of a slack way to guard if you ask me but I guess they mustn't think we have much of a chance of escaping, well me at least, I'm not exactly genius breakout mastermind material and these arms are hardly made to wrestle my way out of here- gosh it's dark, hold on a tick tock."

After such eternal silence Galinda was overwhelmed by this stream of words and proceeded to sit in silence as the other rustled in the darkness before exclaiming triumphantly, "Got it!" and with a soft click, a small flame appeared in the darkness.

Behind the flame, a small face was illuminated in the shadows, large almond eyes glinting purple in light, face smattered with tiny freckles and a large warming smile.

"Much better, see? I hate the dark, but I'm always afraid that if I used this when the guards are about they might see it and take it from me. It's a very clever little device, made it myself, I'm Keilani by the way, nice to meet you, although not the nicest of circumstances I must admit." She paused for a breath and Galinda seized the opportunity.

"I'm Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands but I'm currently at Shiz University, or I was until something- someone brought me here, do you know where we are? Why we are here?"

All her fears that had been pushed aside for her curiosity suddenly rose again, stronger than ever, causing her to tremble and curl up more tightly.

Keilani sensed the panic rising in her voice and reached through the bars with her free hand, gently placing it on Galinda's.

"Calm down. It's ok now, I'm here. We may be locked up but at least we have one another. I don't know why we are here, or where we are. But let's not talk about that now. We have all night before the guards come again, tell me about yourself." Galinda looked up and saw the kindly eyes, sighing she closed her eyes and cleared her mind.

"Well, I guess I- I'm currently, at University, Shiz." Keilani nodded, urging her to continue. "And I share a room with my friend E-Elphaba... Oh Elphie!" Tears began to form from nowhere, musting her vision. She fought them back fruitlessly, as they slowly rolled down her cheeks, Keilani blacked the light and put away her device, reaching through to hold onto Galinda's hands tightly as sobs began to rack her body.

It was going to be a long night...

* * *

**Poor Glinda.. if she seemed a bit random and slightly self absorbed that was intentional, I always thought that she did care for other, just being raised in the spotlight made her think about her self more than say when Elphaba is angsting.. I dunno.. give me your thoughts ******

**I am going to the beach for three days so no updates for a bit but I promise to write heaps and post as soon as I get back (:**

**and there will be more on Keilani, she seems a bit chatterbox happy at the moment, but there is more to her i promise :)**

**As always**

**muchodelove**

**~greenTgal ^_^**


	6. Under the Surface

**~Fellow Ozians (:**

**Back from the beach! It was lovely and well... Cold? Its winter here down under so maybe not ideal beach weather for most.. But at least I did plenty of writing :D so lucky all you who wanted me to update quickly, I just got back and look at that :P**

**And not forgetting seashell chocolates for all my lovely reviewers from last chapter; butterisbetter, Happy loving heroes, Elphaba1fan, PotoPerson and sableblackshadow(yayyy hai) - you make me happy times (: I try to reply to all of you but I'm sorry if somehow you were missed.**

**So here is another chapter. It's back to Fiyero/Elphaba and their fun...**

**And yeh it's a bit longer.. wasn't a short section for me 8)**

**Hope you enjoy!**

"Found it!"

Elphaba passed down the book from the top shelf to Fiyero, who in turn dropped it heavily onto a nearby desk, causing copious amounts of dust to dispel into the air as it landed with a dull 'thump'. As the night had crept into the early hours of the morning, Fiyero had followed Elphaba to the library, a region he would never generally explore at this time of day.

Elphaba climbed down the rickety wooden ladder, coughing from the dust, "Fiyero be careful, these books are antiques!"

He could sense a quiet desperation behind the anger in her words and decided now was not a time to mock her devoted attachment to the battered, old things, so muttered apologies as he leaned over, watching as she opened the book (_Oz; A History VII)_ and began flicking through the pages, too quickly for him to see what any of the lines and lines of tiny print actually read, but she seemed to know what she was looking for, as she suddenly stopped turning and flattened out a 2-page spread, the spine creaking from decades of reading.

"Here it is - _The Kidnapping of Ozma." _She smiled triumphantly, if only for a moment, before sitting heavily and beginning to swiftly scan through the text, using the edge of the now slightly crumpled note as a guide. "I was reading another part of this edition for my history assignment on the Vinkus-Gillikin Treaties and ended up reading the whole book, no don't smirk."

"I'm not smirking!" He quickly wiped the smile from his face, hoping she hadn't noticed. No such luck.

"Yes, you were... And just because _some_ of us value the centuries of history upon which the country stands.. Anyway I remembered that I read an article on the time that Ozma, as a younger and proportionately less powerful leader, was kidnapped, and the ransom demands were-" She pointed to the line on the page and Fiyero read aloud, "_500 gold bars, as they proposed this to be the total worth [in gold] to which Ozma valued."_

He turned to Elphaba, she was already back to pouring devotedly over the note, as she had been for the greater part of the night.

"Well?" she looked up at him, her glance prompting him to continue, "Did they pay the 500 gold bars? I mean, that's a ridiculously large amount of money, even for a ransom..."

Elphaba made a face and turned back to the note, but answered him, "She was on her way to becoming the most powerful sorceress in all of Oz, what do you think happened? She freed herself and was amazingly forgiving in regards to the fools who had thought themselves clever enough to capture her in the first place, as kindly a leader as always."

But Fiyero was not done.

"If she was so powerful, why did she allow herself to be kidnapped in the first place?"

She looked up again, this time her expression one of mild bemusement.

"My Fiyero, aren't you the inquisitive historian! Why do you think I remembered this article from the entire history of Oz?" She ignored his raised eyebrow. " How could it be possible that the single person to have commanded the greatest magical power in all of Oz, and possibly time, be kidnapped? And by common criminals at that!"

This was the Elphaba Fiyero was used to, with knowledge and information on everything and anything stored away, ready to lecture; and had missed this Elphaba, he realised. Ever since Galinda had disappeared, save for her short moment of vulnerability back in the dorms, she had remained disturbingly quiet, occasionally asking his opinion of one of her many ideas behind the meaning of various lines in the note; but he suspected that she did not really need his view, but rather was consolidating her theories aloud. Fiyero smiles as he realised that she was making an effort to include him in her rambling trains of thought, for she know that he was as worried as she was about Galinda's safety and whereabouts, although she was much better and not letting these thoughts hamper her as she researched.

He realised Elphaba was talking to him, again not really observing whether he was listening or not. He set aside those thoughts, unsure as to why he had been observing her so much, and listened.

"...but of course, then the majority of the population believed what was officially released, that she did it as some sort of test to prove that petty crime was extremely dangerous and should not be overlooked. But I think that someone as important as her would not have let herself be kidnapped, and it made publically aware, just to prove the danger of ignoring crime, or to demonstrate her compassion."

She looked up, if surprised to see he was listening attentively, it did not shoe.

Attempting to match her position he supplied, "She wouldn't?" This was enough to spur her on.

"Of course not! Imagine the fear and terror felt throughout Oz at her disappearance!" Elphaba threw up her hands in exasperation and fell back into the armchair, closing her eyes.

Fiyero had grown accustoms to these outbursts, they often occurred while studying with her; where she would find a case, identify the faults and then go on to educate anyone nearby as to _why_ that person was wrong, their false evidence or lacking data, and so waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts. Another thought to add to his irrelevant Elphaba ponderings - Why was she always determined to prove these historians wrong, to change peoples decade-old opinions? He didn't have time to answer his own question, as Elphaba continued her discussion aloud.

"No, she wouldn't have done something on that scale. Ozma must have actually been tricked." She opened her eyes and glanced up at Fiyero again. "Imagine the discord that would have emerged had it been known that she could be overcome so easily. So they write up a nice cover-up story, say that she planned it all in advance and allowed herself to be captured, pay for the actual kidnapper's silence, keep the people happy."

She rolled her eyes with disdain.

"Perhaps even the wonderful Ozma was susceptible to the lure of propaganda... There is no solid logical explanation to back the released explanation, but at that time all of Oz lived in such awe of their great ruler, I think that if they had heard that story as we have, out of context, they would see the obvious flaws. I suppose not many people have the opportunity to read the complete histories of Oz, they're always kept tucked away somewhere impossible to find – no one really knows where to find them..."

Fiyero smiled at her dedication.

"No one but you."

It was meant as a compliment, but his personification did far more damage than intended.

"So you think I'm crazy too, do you? Little green freak in love with the library? You wouldn't understand, you would never need to run away,"

"Elphaba-"

"Never need to just escape from everything and everyone around; just for one second, and for that moment pretend that you have-"

"Elphaba." He placed one hand softly beneath her chin, tilting her head up so she was looking directly at his face.

"You know I would never think that. You're one of my best friends."

He was hurt that she would think him to be that shallow but smiled warmly and reassuringly at her, aware of Elphaba's extremely low self esteem.

She sighed.

"I know." She tried to smile back, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's just that, well, sometimes it's hard to believe that..." She moved to turn her face away, embarrassed, but Fiyero's hand would not let her.

"What's hard to believe?" Elphaba looked into his eyes, as saw the trust- and confusion. She sighed again and slip from his grasp and back into the chair Fiyero didn't try to touch her again, he could see that she was thinking and would answer in time.

But what seemed a rather straight forward question for Fiyero was a major issue for Elphaba.

How do you explain the fact that you are simply unaccustomed to, kindness?

Or that he was one of the very few people who saw her as a person not something less because of her skin. In some corner of her mind, she often feared that Galinda and Fiyero had befriended her purely because she was so different, a novelty.

But then she would be angry at herself for thinking so badly of her two friends, her only friends, really.

Nessa felt some bond with her, mainly because they had grown up together and Elphaba had spent most of her life tending to Nessa's every need – Nessa's limited affection towards Elphaba was really, she felt, and attempt to make up for Frex's refusal to love or acknowledge her as a daughter, as well as to repay her for her care.

But Elphaba could see it in her eyes; whenever they entered a crowded room together, or someone came to visit their house unexpected, they would see Elphaba, or more so her... colouring.. and there it was, in her eyes- the embarrassment, the shame that they were sisters.

As younger children, Nessa had encouraged all of Elphaba's attempts to remove her verdigris, with water, soaps, oils, even one time a bare flame. In all truth Elphaba could see that Nessa shared her father's view, albeit with more restraint and manners; she resented Elphaba for being who she was and how she looked.

Although Elphaba grew aware of this at a young age, she never blamed Nessa for not liking her, it was her own fault after all, she reasoned, that they had no mother; it was her fault that Nessa had been sentenced to a wheelchair for life. Who would not hate her for that alone?

She certainly hated herself for killing her mother, for ruining Nessa's life, for angering her father, for being so stubborn, hot-tempered, passionate, for being green!

And so, growing up amidst people, a family, who resented her, meant that affection or care towards her was completely novel, it was frightening!

She didn't know what to expect, how to respond – always fearing that one day she would go too far, say something too bold, and they would realise that the novelty had worn of. But most of all, she feared that they would be too kind to tell her, and would keep her company still until, eventually, they too, would resent her.

She had no clue as to how to expression this confusion and worry to Fiyero without offending him, or sounding paranoid, so she settled with, "It's hard to believe how nice you- and Galinda, are to me. That's all."

She smiled at him, and although he could see that it was forced, he chose to ignore that and smiled back warmly, before embracing her in a short, awkward hug.

"We're your friends. That's what we're here for." As he said this, he saw the shadow of doubt flicker across her face, only momentarily, gone before he look again, as if it had never happened. He was about to inquire, but she spoke first.

"So. Where do we find 500 gold bars?" She half-smiled at that. "Yes, it helps that you're a prince, but I'm sure _someone _would notice if the entire royal safe was empty."

He smiled cunningly.

"Oh Miss Elphaba. Don't you worry about the money side of this... I know exactly what we're going to do with that!"

**So there you go! (: mini-cliffy I hope you enjoyed it, please review to let me know what you think.**

**Another thanks to all who have reviewed any of the previous chapters, and specially to those who have reviewed all or most of them, your advice really helps me :D**

**I will also be updating the Sound of Love tonight, I just have some final editing to do on the chapter.... and seeing as this took me like total 2 hours to type up and edit I may not post until tomorrow.. but I'm in Oz ( :D :D :D sorry) so that's like tomorrow tomorrow for any Europeans/Americans.. if any of you are.. if any one speaks French or Spanish, I would love to hear from you (:**

**Ok that was random... But it's like almost 4am here so forgive me.. A hours in the car back from the beach affecting my mental state.. Lol just tune out about now =D**

**As always**

**3 mucho de love**

**~greenTgal ^_^**

p.s look out for the musical lyric line in this chapter, if you find it contact me or

p.p.s review, review, review (:


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